1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to fluid collection apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus that facilitates fluid collection from an umbilical cord while preventing hazardous exposure to blood and body fluids collected.
2. Background of the Related Art
Body fluids, such as blood, urine, etc., can be collected during various medical procedures for analysis. For example, fluid and blood samples are typically collected from an umbilical cord of a newborn infant to ascertain blood type and Rh factor. Collection of umbilical cord blood is also beneficial due to its considerable curative value, e.g., use in bone marrow replacement procedures for treatment of cancer and immuno-deficiency disorders. Further, fetal blood has important commercial and therapeutic use in medical fields, such as, tissue culture, stem cell collection, pharmacology and biological research.
Several methods for umbilical cord blood sampling are known. One method includes holding a severed free end of an umbilical cord, still attached to a placenta, over a test tube or container. Blood is drained from the placenta into the test tube or container by milking the umbilical cord. A typical sample requires about 5 cc. This procedure has several disadvantages in that it is awkward to perform, difficult to control the sterility of the collected cord blood and may hazardously expose medical personnel to cord blood due to splattering, etc.
In another method, blood is drawn from the umbilical cord vein via a large gauge needle and syringe. This procedure is also awkward to perform and may hazardously expose medical personnel to potential needle sticks. More recently, an umbilical cord segment is clamped on two ends and moved to a collection device or container where the cord blood is drained by removing the clamps from either or both ends. Ultimately, the cord blood must be transferred to a storage container, such as a test tube, to prevent contamination of the blood and minimize hazardous exposure to health care workers. These funnel type collection devices require larger apertures that interface with non-standard wide-mouthed test tubes because they rely on gravity to cause the blood to flow. Other cord blood collection devices include large containers to hold the entire cord segment. The containers are sealed so that vacuum pressure can be used to cause blood to flow through a smaller aperture or needle. Needle type interfaces, however, must include shielding to protect medical personnel. The necessary shielding adds more bulk to the collection device.
The above devices disadvantageously expose medical personnel to accidental needle sticks and potentially hazardous body fluids. Needlesticks can, for example, occur during manipulation of a collection device including, assembly, dis-assembly or insertion into a blood vessel of the umbilical cord. Hazards such as, for example, needlesticks, splattering, etc. can present dangerous exposure to fluids contaminated with bacterial diseases, and potentially fatal viral infections such as AIDS, Hepatitis B and C, etc.
Attempts have been made to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and prevent hazardous exposure to blood and body fluids. Some designs employ a needle hood for a needle container which sealingly engages an evacuated tube. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,915,384 and 5,342,328. Designs of this type, however, still involve the use of a container with a needle and may not adequately prevent hazardous exposure to blood and body fluids. Still other designs employ complicated valve connections between a container and a syringe for receiving collected cord blood. These prior designs, however, may not safely transfer fluid due to their complexity and number of parts. Complex structure can result in high manufacturing costs. Further, these configurations are not easily adapted to existing medical components.
Consequently, there remains a need to provide a more satisfactory solution for fluid collection apparatus by overcoming the disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a fluid collection apparatus for collection of umbilical cord fluid which prevents hazardous exposure to blood and body fluids and is adaptable to existing medical components. Such a fluid collection apparatus should have reduced complexity to increase reliability and improve fluid collection. It would be highly desirable for the fluid collection apparatus to employ luer connections thereby minimizing the potential for inadvertent needle stick.